Package for handling and transporting eggs



Feb; 11. 192s. 1,526,566 E. F. REEVES YACKAGE FOR HANDLING AND TRANSPORTING EGGS Urgina Filed Dec. 15 1921 Mmmm: win-n I f annum Patented Feb. 17, 1925.

UNITED STATES EDWIN F. REEVES, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

PACKAGE FOR HANDLING AND TRANSPO'RTING EGGS.

Application filed December 13, 1921, Serial No. 521,980, Renewed April 30, 1924.

To @ZZ whom z' may concer/n.'

Be it known that I, EDwiN F. REEVES, a citizen of the United States, and resident of the city and county of San Francisco,

- State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Packages for Handling and Transporting Eggs, of which the following is a speciiication.

My invention has for its object a package or container in which eggs may be safely packed and shipped without the usual breakage. A further object is the production of such a package which will be suitable for repeated usings and one which may be cheaply constructed and quickly assembled. Other objects will appear from the drawings and specifications.

These objects I attain by a structure of paper ci' cardboard or the like wherein a series of cells are formed between several members of the structure, and into which cells the eggs are packed. The cell walls are formed with requisite spacings and wrapping and supporting strip whereby each individual egg is safely protected under the varying conditions of handling and transport. V/ithin the cell walls I employ the said strip as an elastic member which referably consists of a corrugated strip ov paper or the like secured at one of the wall intersections of each cell and which is adapted to wrap around the egg. In this way each individual egg in the package is cushioned or elastically supported against breakage due to strains which may occur radially around the egg. The egg is also supported elastically in the other directions by the partition members mentioned below. The cellular structure may be made up in the conventional way and assembled within a container or box, the outer walls of which box are preferably made of corrugated strawboard or the like, thus providing an outer protecting armor of the requisite stiffness and thickness to safely protect the cellular structure and eggs contained therein. The partition members between the tiers of eggs and which in eifect form the top and bottom of each layer of eggs are made up of sheets of cardboard or the like with a plurality oflioles corresponding with the plurality of cells and spaced in accordance therewith, so that these holes in vthe partition members, which holes are smaller than the eggs when the structure is assembled, are spaced at the top and bottom of each egg so that the ends of each egg rest within the said holes, one in each sheet. The sheets of cardboard, that for the top of one layer and that for the bottoni of the other layer, are then spaced apart by any suitable means and for this I prefer a set o f inter-crossing strips of cardboard on edge similar to but much shorter than those employed in forming thc egg cells.

By referring to the accompanying drawings my invention will be made clear.

Figl is a perspective view of my con-. tainer adapted to carry two dozen eggs, with certain of the parts broken away to better show the interior construction thereof.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one of the cells with the elastic strip shown there` in.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of one of the cells with the elastic strip in position and the egg inserted therein.

Fig. 4t is a fragmentary perspective view of one of the partition members comprising a top and a bottom and spacing means therebetween, adapted to locate between the tier of eggs.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the elastic strips adapted to enwrap the egg.

Throughout the figures similar numerals refer to identical pai'ts.

The box of strawboard or other suitable outer partition material is indicated bv the numeral l having suitable covers or clhsure means for the top as indicated by the flaps 2, 3, l, 5. 1Within the box l is located a criss-cross cell structure composed of a plurality of strips as G, 7, 8, 9 of Fig. 2 which interlock in the conventional wav to form a plurality of cells. In the illustration I have shown a cellular structure so formed and suitable for carrying a dozen eggs in each tier. On the bottom of the box l is first placed a spacing member which consists of a plurality of strips as l0, 1l, l2, see Fig. el, dovetail or interconnected at their intersections in the saine manner as the member (i, 7, S, 9, shown in Fig. 2. On top of the supporting frame so made I place a perforated sheet 13. This forms the bottom for the lower tier of eggs.

The cell structure shown in Fig. 2 is then placed on top of this sheet 13 including the elastic strips 1+i, thus providing a tier suitable for receiving a dozen eggs. When the Veggsare placed in these 12 cells their bot-- toms rest in the holes 17 of the sheet 13'; and a complete partition member as shown fragmentarily in Fig. '4lis -nowplaced thereover.l This partition member consists of a. sheet 15 which is a duplicate of'sheet 13and these two sheets are spaced apartby a. duplicate supporting structure made up of strips 10, 11, 12, see Fig. 4. The Asheet 15in this partition member with its holesas 16 elastically supports the top end of each of the eggs in the lower tier and the sheet 13 with its holes 17 provide `bottom cavities liory the second .or upper tier of eggs. A similar cellular structure as shown in Fig. 2 isnow placed thereon and thus a second tier of 12V cells ispro- Yvided and these in turn arecovered byl a sheet 15 and a supporting Jrrame 10, 11,12, as before, which fills the case to thetop and upon the closure of the flaps2, 3, 4, 5, the container is complete. Y

Particularattention is directed to my elastic member 14 andthe manner of this formation and arrangement by which the egg is wralpped as shown particularly in Figs. 2, 3, 5.

prefer to make of corrugated cardboardv or similar material which gives a strip of considerable elasticity and this strip is punched on one end with a slot 18adapted to fit over one of the intersections of each of the cell members, as shown` at the intersection'19,.dovetailed overthe strip. 8. The corrugated walls of the strip 14 establish a spaced relation between the egg 20, andthe cellular walls as 6, 7, 8 and 9, and regardless of the size of the egg 20 the said corrugated stripV will lightlybut firmly hold the egg in position in the cell. yLikewise the sheets 13 and15 provideelastic support for the top and bottom of each egg.

.Reference is iherei-n: made to my copending application `441,762 iledFeb.v 2, 1921.

I claim: A I

1. In a package for eggs comprising a plurality of cells an elasti'cally formed strip constructed and adapted to wrap each egg and-providedwitli means to engage the strip in iilxed relation with the corresponding cell wa 2. A package constructed and adapted to contain eggs and oomprisinga rigid box, a plurality or' sheets each havinga plurality of..spaced openings for holdingv 'egg ends, a plurality ot' wall members dovetailed `together forming acellular structure between the sheetsv andpanela'stic wrapping ,strip within leach cell and,` engaged with thefcell wall, and vmeans holding. the sheetsspaced rom the top andbottom of the box. 4

package for eggs as: set forth in claim 2 and. wherein there Aarea plurality voit'cellular structures each adapted to lcontain a klayer of leggsand said structures bottom sheets spaced apart with top and sheet and said duplicates 'of the' irst named topnand bottom sheets spaced apart withr af shorter cellular structure.

4. A package Jfor eggs comprising a plu-- rality of partitions intercrossin'g `to form cell walls, a bottom member and a top member recessed. for y receiving the egg ends, means holding said members in spaced rela-- tion, an vouter'casing enclosing. the cells, and an` expansible. stripl for each cell engaged with-,one .partition intersection therein andv adapted towrap the egg..

5. A package and a top member for each tieijfand an exvpansible strip, for each cell adapted to en-v to-Wrap the egg.,i and spacingmeans betwee'rrl for eggs comp-rising a :Y box .anda plurality of .tiersoi cells,v,a b'pttom-` the adjacent ymembers andbeiwveenl the 'mem-1 bers vand the'top and. bottom ofthe box,

EDWIN F. REEVEQL' 

